Chapter 1099, The Glass Workshop

Translator: Silavin

 

Yan Hua’s bright voice floated up from the ground floor before she had even finished climbing the stairs.

 

Yan Hua was still mid-run when her voice arrived ahead of her. Sha Lan followed close behind, flicking her cat tail to signal the other to slow down.

 

The two of them had finished training early that morning and made a deliberate detour to check on the glass workshop.

 

The Flame Dragon Tribe’s glass workshop had been operating for quite a long time now, and the craftsmen inside had all learned how to produce glassware. Given proper reference drawings, they would not take long to create those pieces.

 

*Step step step…*

 

The moment Yan Hua and Sha Lan reached the second floor of the Yong’an Building, a scent stopped them both.

 

Yan Hua’s feet went still at once. Her delicate red eyes swept across the dining table. She had learned, by now, that anything good to eat almost always ended up there.

 

“Already done with training? Come try this popcorn while it’s fresh. It’s super crispy.” Su Bai waved them over.

 

“Popcorn, Shaman? What is that? Did you find a new plant that can be eaten?” Yan Hua’s mind immediately conjured an image of some kind of blossom.

 

“This smell is amazing. I’ve never come across it before.” Sha Lan had arrived at the same conclusion as Yan Hua. “But how does a flower manage to smell so much like food?” she asked, puzzled.

 

“It isn’t a flower. It’s the Sweet Grain that the Giant Bear Tribe brought over a while back. This is what I showed you before, and I called it corn.” Su Bai smiled.

 

“So this is what corn smells like. I love it.” Yan Hua pressed forward to get a closer look at the popcorn.

 

Then she frowned. It did not quite match what she remembered from the first time she had seen corn.

 

“Does corn end up looking like this once it ripens?” Sha Lan had the same question.

 

“Ha ha ha, no. It is nothing like that.” Su Bai openly laughed. “This is corn after it’s been processed. The original corn looks like this.” He reached across the table and picked up a fresh cob, handing it over. The girls’ bewildered expressions had very nearly done him in.

 

“That’s right, I thought so. This is much more like the corn I saw before.” Yan Hua recognised the kernels on the cob immediately. She had seen them removed one by one when the seeds were being prepared.

 

“Eat the popcorn while it’s hot. Once it cools down, it won’t taste as nice.” Su Bai urged.

 

“Yes.” Yan Hua picked up a single piece of popcorn with great care and placed it in her mouth. She chewed slowly, then bit down again, and her delicate scarlet eyes went wide.

 

After that, she stopped being careful. Instead of picking pieces up one at a time she began scooping them up by the handful.

 

“It’s great. Crispy and fragrant.” Sha Lan had thrown herself into eating with great enthusiasm.

 

“Slow down a little. I’ve brewed some tea for you two. It’ll keep it from feeling too rich.” Yu Ying thoughtfully passed over the tea she had set aside to cool.

 

Yan Hua drank a large gulp in one go, then went straight back to the popcorn.

 

She was consuming it at a tremendous pace. The girls simply had too much fondness for sweet things.

 

Even more so in the Primitive Era, where sweet foods were scarce.

 

Sha Lan was eating without pause, though in contrast to Yan Hua, she still managed to look far more composed. Sha Lan would take two or three pieces at a time, with the occasional sip of tea between bites.

 

“You said a moment ago that the Grey Feathered Giant Bird’s seat is done? Let’s go and have a look.” Su Bai smiled.

 

He was glad to see the girls enjoying themselves, though there was still work to attend to.

 

“Yes, we went by the glass workshop this morning specifically to check. It seems nearly done.” Yan Hua said at once.

 

“Uncle Min Zhi asks that you come and inspect it. If it passes, he says it can be immediately mounted on the Ferocious Beast’s back.” Sha Lan added.

 

“Alright. In that case, have you eaten enough? If you have, we’ll go and take a look.” Su Bai rose from his seat.

 

“Enough, more than enough.” Yan Hua was already on her feet, both hands scooping up a large fistful of popcorn.

 

“I’m done too.” Sha Lan did exactly the same.

 

Yu Ying pressed her hand over her mouth to hide a smile, then turned and fetched a small wooden bucket to put some popcorn in. She also produced a large wooden container and filled it generously with tea.

 

“There. Now you can eat and drink on the way without having to carry everything in your hands.” Yu Ying said warmly.

 

“I love you, Xiao Yu!” Yan Hua planted a quick kiss on her cheek.

 

“Hehe…” Yu Ying’s face went red without her meaning it to.

 

Su Bai watched the girls carry on with a quiet smile, then led everyone out of the Yong’an Building.

 

*Step step step…*

 

The glass workshop was not far from the Yong’an Building, so they went on foot.

 

About ten minutes later, Su Bai and the others arrived at the workshop entrance.

 

The glass workshop was a two-storey building, though it was far broader than the ordinary cement houses nearby. Roughly half the ground floor was the main working area responsible for smelting and firing the glass, with vents set into the rear wall. The upper floor was where finished glassware was stored and where the workers could sleep.

 

Most of the workshops inside the Yong’an Building had taken on this same arrangement by now, where the work and the rest area were in the same building.

 

The reason for it was simple. The Flame Dragon Tribe was still in the middle of building. There were not enough finished cement houses to go around, so none could be set aside for the workers.

 

Of course, nobody was going to ask skilled craftsmen to live in wooden houses either. This combined arrangement had been the most practical answer.

 

Min Zhi came out to meet them, inclining his head respectfully. “Honoured Shaman, the seat from the drawings you provided last time is complete.”

 

He was one of the more skilled older craftsmen among the workers, and had been placed in charge of the glass workshop from the very beginning.

 

“Show me.” Su Bai said simply.

 

“Yes.” Min Zhi led them inside.

 

The heat hit them the moment they crossed the doorstep.

 

This was only natural. Glass required temperatures that were extremely high, almost violently high. In fact, a glass workshop with no heat coming off it would have been strange.

 

Still, for Su Bai, this was nothing. If anything, he could still regard it as rather comfortable.

 

However, for Yan Hua and the others, the hot air was already enough to draw sweat.